Trust and Deception
by McWriterx3
Summary: AU. Instead of Derek, Mark is running from a broken marriage. Derek and Addison are happy and living in Seattle, Derek is chief. Pairings: MarkOC, Addek, MerMark with hints of others. All GA characters and included. Rating is just to be safe.
1. Prologue

A/N: I started a story like this one a few months ago but never finished it. I got a new idea for it the other day and decided to completely re-write it. This is basically my first fanfic so constructive criticisim is welcome but no flames please.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing.

Lacey's heart stops when the bedroom door opens, he wasn't supposed to come home tonight; he had called to tell her he had a late surgery. She distinctly remembers him saying he wouldn't be home. When he slams the bedroom door she pushes Wesley off of her and scrambles to find something to put on, before running out of the bedroom and down the stairs after Mark.

"Mark!" She calls after him, desperately wanting to explain, to fix what she'd done.

"Mark please." Her voice is pleading. "Let me explain." She grabs his arm as she reaches the bottom of the stairs and he whirls around.

"Let you explain?" He yells at her. "What the hell is there to explain?"

As she searches for the right words he shakes his head, anger evident in his eyes.

"Was cheating on me not enough? Did you have to do it my house? In my bed? God Lacey, Madeline and Kaydence are right down fucking the hallway." His voice booms through the house and she flinches.

"Get out."

To say Lacey is shocked would be an understatement. Sure she deserved to be thrown out but Mark actually doing so never crossed her mind.

"Wh-what?" 

"You heard me."

"Mark please."

"Get out of my house." His voice is unusually calm.

"No."

"You wanted Wesley, now you can have him."

"I don't want him Mark, you have to give me a chance to fix this."

"I can't. I can't even look at you, because when I do all I see is him on top of you."

It almost scares Lacey that he's not yelling. She's not used to him being calm and it's making her uneasy.

"Mark. Please, I'm sorry."

He shakes his head.

"Never mind. You stay, I'll go."

In one swift motion he grabs his keys and walks out the door without looking back, when the door slams behind him Lacey sinks to the floor, hot, angry tears streaming down her face. She pulls her knees to her chest and she cries, she cries for her failed marriage, for her girls who probably heard that entire argument and for not thinking when she kissed Wesley back. Her cell phone begins to ring and without even looking at it she slams it against the wall, shattering it to the floor in a hundred tiny pieces.

"Mommy?"

Her head snaps up, at the top of the staircase is Kaydence, her eyes filling with tears as she stares down at Lacey.

"What's going on?"

Lacey puts her head in her hands, that's a loaded question and she doesn't know how to answer it.

"Where'd Daddy go?"

More tears slip down Lacey's cheeks as Kaydence slowly makes her way down the stairs to sit next to Lacey.

"I don't know."

"Why did he leave?"

"Its complicated baby, its just really complicated."

"Are you okay?" Her voice is full of concern and worry and it breaks Lacey's heart. She shouldn't have to worry about her; it should be the other way around.

"No." Lacey replies because she doesn't have the strength to lie, not tonight.

"Is Daddy gonna come back?"

"I don't know baby. I just don't know."

--

So, let me know what you think. Should I continue or no?


	2. Baby sister

Thanks for all the reviews guys, they really make me feel good. This chapter is going to be a slight filler, to help get my story in the right direction. Hope you like it.

Same disclaimers apply.

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Lacey sighs as she closes the front door, three back-to-back surgeries and she still had to be at the hospital at 6am. She wrinkles her forehead in confusion as she realizes that the house is unusually quiet, the girls should have been home hours ago.

"Kaydence!" She calls walking in the living to set down her things. Its then that she notices the note on the coffee table written in Mark's scribbled hand writing.

_Lacey,_

_I'm leaving New York and all the memories it holds. I'm trying to get in touch with a lawyer and get on with a divorce. Don't worry about the girls, I picked them up from school and helped them pack the majority of their things. I'm taking them with me, we both know you can't handle them by yourself. _

_-Mark_

Lacey read and re-reads the note time and time again before it finally sinks in, her husband left her and he had taken their kids with him.

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"Daddy where are we?" Madeline asks for the hundredth time.

Mark sighs, exasperated with his youngest daughter.

"We're in Seattle Mads, we're going to see Uncle Derek and Aunt Addie remember?"

"Oh yeah." She smiles sheepishly.

He looks over at Kaydence un-packing the things in her suitcase. Mark had rented a suite at the best hotel he could find until they had a better place to stay.

"Kayde, are you sure you and Maddie will be alright while I go talk to Derek."

She rolls her eyes, clearly annoyed.

"We'll be fine Dad, I think I can handle her.

"Alright." Mark smiles kissing the top of Madeline's head.

"I'll be back in a little while."

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"Good afternoon Dr. Shepherd."

"Hey Patricia. Any messages?" Derek smiles at his secretary.

"No, you actually have a visitor. He said he was an old friend so I let him wait inside."

Derek nods his head, slightly confused.

"Okay thanks." He replies as he opens the door to his office, not the least bit surprised to see Mark sitting on his couch.

"Mark." He calls quietly shutting the door.

"I wondered how long it would take you to show up here."

Mark nods, knowing without a doubt he has already talked to Lacey.

"So you've talked to her."

"Of course I have." Derek answers, taking a seat behind his desk.

"She is my baby sister."

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Reviews make me smile.


	3. Tears and late night talks

Sorry it took me so long to update. Thanks for all the reviews guys, this chapter is kind of a filler but I hope you like it anyway.

R&R.

--

Mark sighs, resting his head in his hands.

"I know I shouldn't have come all the way out here, I shouldn't be dragging you into the middle of our problems but I never saw this coming. I couldn't stay in New York."

"Look Mark, we grew up together you're practically my brother. If you're out here looking for a job, consider yourself the new head of plastics at Seattle Grace. If you need a place to stay, I can give you that too. But if you're out here to forget about Lacey and start fresh, you're in the wrong city, because I'm the first person she'll call when she starts looking for you and I'm not going to lie to her."

Mark nods his head, knowing all of this already.

"I just need a job man, and some time to clear my head."

Shuffling through a few file cabinets Derek pulls out a stack of paper work and hands it to Mark.

"You start Monday morning."

--

Mark looks up from his paper work when he hears Kaydence walk into the kitchen area of their hotel room.

"Hey sweetie, what are you still doing up?" It was well past one in the morning and Mark is almost positive he remembers telling her goodnight around ten.

Kaydence shrugs her shoulders and sits down across from him at the table, he immediately notices the tears pooling in her eyes.

"What's the matter Kayde?"

"Are we ever going back to New York?"

Mark sighs and sits his pen down, giving her his full attention.

"Eventually, just not right now."

She nods her head, causing a few tears to trickle down her cheeks.

"Are you and mom going to get divorced?" She asks, quickly wiping the tears away.

Mark nods his head sadly.

"Yeah baby we are."

More tears fall down her cheeks but this time she doesn't bother to wipe them away.

"Does that mean she won't be my mom anymore?"

"Come here." She stands up and he pulls her into his arms, just like he used to when she was little and had a nightmare.

"Just because Lacey isn't your biological mother doesn't mean she's going to stop loving you because we're getting divorced. We may not be able to make our marriage work and yeah we're getting divorced but that doesn't mean things will change for you. Lacey will still be your mom and you'll still be able to see her just as much. Regardless of what happens between Lacey and I she's still going to love you as much as she does now okay?"

Kaydence nods just slightly, wiping the few remaining tears off her face.

"It might not seem like it right now but things will work out, so don't worry about it alright?"

"Okay." She whispers meekly.

"Now get some sleep, it's nearly two in the morning."

She yawns as she stands up and walks towards her bedroom.

"Goodnight daddy, I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart. "

--

"Alright people its time to get moving." Bailey yells as she enters the locker room.

"Yang; you're in the pit. Karev; Montgomery-Shepherd, O'Malley; you're with me today, Stevens; you're with Shepherd, and Grey; you're with the new plastics attending, Dr. Sloan."

Everyone, with the exception of Meredith, slowly exits the locker room, none of them looking forward to rounds.

"Grey, why are you still standing there?" Bailey questions.

"I uh, don't know where to find Dr. Sloan."

Bailey sighs and mumbles something about interns not being able to do anything on their own.

"Try the plastics ward, I'm sure he'll be up there somewhere. If not, page him."

Meredith nods and quickly makes her way out of the locker room and towards the elevators.

--

"Did someone page me?" Mark asks walking up to the nurses station, chart in hand.

"Yeah, umm that was me." Meredith says quietly waving her hand a little.

Mark looks at her with an annoyed expression, signaling for her to elaborate.

"I'm you're intern today. Meredith Grey."

Mark nods his head as a small smirk forms on his lips.

"Great, I love interns. I need to talk to some patients and while I do that you can get me some coffee."

"You can't be serious?" Meredith laughs.

"I'll take a vanilla latte, extra cream."

She laughs again at the absurdity of his request.

"I'm sorry, I know you're new here but I'm not getting your coffee."

Mark smirks again.

"Back talk, I like you Grey. We might get along after all."


	4. Boxes

"That's not the way Mommy does it." Madeline states matter of factly as she watches Mark trying to cook breakfast and failing miserably.

"Well how does Mommy cook eggs Madeline?"

The little girl shrugs her shoulders.

"I don't know. I just know she doesn't do it like that."

"If you don't know, how do you know I'm doing it wrong?" He asks, growing more frustrated by the minute.

Madeline giggles a little and looks at Mark as if he's absolutely stupid.

"Because Mommy's eggs don't catch on fire."

Normally Mark would laugh at his daughter's answer but nothing had gone right this morning and Mark couldn't find it in him to make light of the situation. Instead he throws the spatula in the sink shoves the eggs onto another eye, very near giving up and just ordering room service.

"Daddy!" Kaydence calls cautiously, standing in front of the open door.

"Yeah!" Mark yells from the kitchen.

"I think you should come here."

Mark sighs as he throws the frying pan in the sink. The eggs are burnt anyway.

"What Kaydence?" He is clearly annoyed but stops short when he sees what she's staring at.

"Holy shit."

She nods her head, still staring at the mess in the hallway.

"The bell boy brought all of it up, I kind of thought we should tip him but you took to long to get here."

"What is it?" Mark asks, staring at the array of boxes outside their hotel room, if he had to guess he would say there were at least fifteen maybe more.

"I don't know, there's a note on that box over there." Kaydence points to the box closest to the door.

"I think it's from Mommy but I'm not exactly sure."

Mark walks over and picks up the note of the box and sure enough its written in Lacey's curly handwriting.

_This is all your stuff out of the brownstone; I sold it a few weeks ago and didn't feel like putting all your stuff in storage. Some of it belongs to the girls, but the boxes are labeled so you should be able to figure it out. There are divorce papers in an envelope somewhere, I think I put them with the things that came out of your office but I really don't remember. I've already signed them so now its up to you. If you want the money for the brownstone you can have it, or you can take the house in Aspen, I couldn't care less. I want joint custody of the girls and if you're not willing to work something out with Kaydence I have no problem fighting for full custody of Maddie, it's completely up to you. _

_-Lacey._

_P.S. Whether or not you choose to believe it, I do still love you Mark, so if you decide not to sign the papers you know where to find me._

Mark looks up at Kaydence, his mind reeling from the end of her letter.

"She sold the brownstone, this is all our stuff."

"I guess its time to buy a house." Kaydence replies. Shrugging her shoulders as she walks off.

--

Derek is sitting at his desk flipping through mounds of paper work when Mark storms into his office.

"You told her." He all but yells, slamming the door shut.

Derek nods his head.

"Yeah, I told you I would. I wasn't going to lie to her when she asked if I'd talked to you."

Mark looks at Derek, disbelief written all over his face.

"You couldn't have just said you talked to me. Did you have to tell her I was in Seattle?"

"She was going to figure it out Mark. Why are you so mad anyway? Its not like she jumped on the first plane out here."

"That would have been better than what I got this morning." Mark mutters, barely audible.

"What?" Derek asks, slightly confused.

"She sold the brownstone, boxed up all my stuff and sent it, along with divorce papers, to my hotel room. "

"Ouch."

"I don't even know where to put all that shit." Mark laughs, relaxing into one of the chairs in front of Derek's desk.

"Get a house."

"I didn't plan to stay here that long."

"So go back to New York. Fix your marriage and get on with your life."

Mark shakes his head.

"I don't want to go back to New York."

"Alright, then sign the papers and buy a house out here."

"I don't want to do that either."

Derek sighs and leans back in his chair.

"Then I don't know what to tell you."

--

After a lot of bargaining and ultimately some begging Mark had finally managed to talk Derek and Addison into taking the girls for the night. He needed time to think and that was not possible with two kids running around a cramped hotel room. He smiles when he walks into Joe's Bar and sees who is sitting alone at the bar. He hadn't planned on talking to anyone tonight, but right now it looks as if his plans might be changing. He quietly slips onto the stool beside her and smirks just slightly.

"Is this seat taken?"

She looks over at him and just stares at him, seemingly contemplating whether or not to answer; finally she simply shrugs her shoulders.

"I guess not." Meredith replies throwing back another shot of tequila.


	5. Ten years today

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Its makes me happy to see people are actually reading my story. Okay, so I've decided to skip ahead just a little, just to get the plot moving. Hope you guys don't mind. Oh, and anything in italics is a flashback.

Two months later.

"Hey." Meredith smiles as she leans against the nurse's station next to Mark. What had started out as a one night stand after that night in the bar had blossomed into a relationship and as much as she hated to admit it, Meredith was falling for him fast.

"Whatcha doin?" She asks, leaning over to look at the chart in his hand.

"Just some post ops, I'm almost done, just have to date them. What is today anyway?"

"Umm, it's the 24th."

As soon as the words leave her mouth Mark's face falls, he can already tell today is not going to be a good day.

"What's wrong?" Meredith asks, noticing his sudden change in demeanor.

Mark shakes his head.

"Nothing, I'll meet you for lunch later okay?" Without waiting for an answer he walks off down the hallway.

"But I'm on your service today." Meredith sighs, running down the hall to catch up with him.

--

"_Mark." Lacey whines again. "I hate surprises."_

_Mark smirks even though she can't see him._

"_I know babe, but you'll love this one I promise."_

_She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest._

"_I just don't understand why I have to be blindfolded."_

_He chuckles, all the while thinking she's completely adorable when she's pretending to be angry._

"_You only have to be blindfolded for a few more minutes." He promises taking her hand and leading her up a few steps._

"_You ready?" He asks and she can't help but smile._

"_Yeah."_

_He unties her blindfold and as soon as her eyes adjust to the sudden light she gasps and spins around to face him with a huge smile on her face._

"_You bought us a house?"_

_He shrugs._

"_You've always said you wanted a brownstone overlooking Central Park."_

_She turns back around to look at their new home and he wraps his arms around her waist._

"_Happy Anniversary Lacey."_

--

Mark shakes his head trying to rid his mind of the memory, that was nine years ago things were different now, much different. He glances at the manila envelope still sitting on his desk, he had yet to sign the divorce papers.

"It would be too weird to sign them today." He thinks aloud and doesn't give them a second glance.

--

"Today is Lacey and Mark's anniversary." Derek states, looking over at Addison who just nods her head. Already seeing where this is going.

"I was thinking of flying her out here for a consult."

"Derek." Addison warns.

"What?" He asks, playing innocent but she's not buying it.

"Don't meddle. You only want to fly her out here so they have to talk to each other. If they want to work things out they will. They don't need you acting as a marriage counselor."

"I'm not meddling, I'm just trying to help."

Addison sighs, knowing once Derek gets an idea in his head there is no changing his mind.

"Just leave it alone. The wounds are too fresh, they aren't going to do anything but argue at this point."

Derek smiles before kissing her forehead.

"I have to disagree." He states as he heads off to check on a patient.

--

"_What on earth?" Lacey exclaims when she walks into the kitchen. Worry soon turns to laughter when she realizes why the house is filled with smoke. Mark is standing in front of the over holding what she assumes was supposed to be dinner, while the over is pouring smoke._

"_You're laughing at me."_

_She covers her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter but its no use._

"_I'm sorry baby, but we both know you can't cook."_

_He smiles sheepishly, dropping the casserole dish onto the stove top and closing the oven._

"_I didn't have time to buy you anything. I was going to cook dinner to make it up to you."_

_She shakes her head as she moves to wrap her arms around him, breathing in his scent as she does so._

"_I didn't have time to buy you anything either, being an intern sucks."_

_He nods his head._

"_That is does."_

"_How about I cook dinner, and you can clean up the mess. And then we can go to bed." She smiles seductively at him._

"_Sounds like a plan."_

_She breathes in the scent of his cologne one more time before stepping out of his arms._

"_I love you Mark."_

"_I love you too Lace."_

--

Lacey wipes a few tears off her cheeks as she tries to shake the memory. That was their second anniversary and without a doubt her favorite, even though there were no expensive gifts or extravagant surprises. The sound of her phone ringing pulls Lacey from her thoughts, she grabs her phone off the table to find a text message from Derek.

_I need you for a consult. If I buy the tickets will you fly to Seattle?_

A/N: So I skipped ahead two months and Mark and Meredith are dating. I was going to do a few chapters showing the beginning of their relationship but every chapter I wrote like that seemed to drag on, so I skipped all the boring details. Let me know what you think.


	6. It wasn't just me

A/N: So, I haven't updated in forever, very sorry by the way, but I got an e-mail about this story today and it gave me a sudden burst of inspiration. Hopefully there are at least a few people still reading. Let me know what you think.

Same disclaimers apply.

"I was thinking we could go out tonight, maybe eat dinner at that little Italian place you love so much, have some wine and then go to bed early." Mark whispers seductively in Meredith's ear as she flips through a patient's chart.

"What about the girls?" She asks, looking sideways at Madeline spinning in one of the nurse's desk chairs.

"Kaydence is going to a sleep over and since Derek has a late surgery Addison has agreed to watch Maddie."

"Oh." Meredith smiles. "Well in that case….."

But her sentence is cut short by a high-pitched squeal from Madeline.

"Mommy!" She screams and Meredith and Mark turn around just in time to watch her running into the arms of a woman that Meredith has never met but would recognize anywhere. She looks exactly like Derek, the same vibrant eyes and dark hair, except hers flows in long curls down her back. She is, Meredith must admit, exceptionally beautiful and knowing that this woman was married to Mark is the slightest bit intimidating.

"Daddy look!" Madeline practically yells as Lacey walks over to where he's standing with Meredith. "Mommy's here."

"I can see that. What are you doing here Lacey?"

"Well what does it look like baby? I'm here to win you back." She smiles sweetly and just for a moment Mark isn't completely sure that she's kidding.

"You can't be serious."

"Hey Mommy?" Madeline interrupts before Lacey can answer. "Do you wanna come color with me in Aunt Addie's office?"

"You go ahead." Lacey answers, setting her down on the floor. "I'll be right there okay?"

"Okay." She smiles, skipping off towards the elevator.

"Why are you really here Lacey?" Mark questions once Madeline is out of earshot. "I know you're not actually here to win me back."

"Oh please." She rolls her yes. "Don't flatter yourself, I'm here for a consult. Not to break up this new relationship with your intern." She looks at Meredith for the first time. "You are the intern right? Meredith is it?"

"Yeah." Meredith responds meekly, attempting a smile that comes off more like a grimace.

"She's kind of quiet, but its cute I guess." Lacey shrugs her shoulders. "Kaydence says you're happy."

"I am happy." Mark responds tightly, grabbing Meredith's hand.

"Really? Because I find that so hard to believe."

"Lacey." Mark warns, already knowing exactly where she's going with this.

"What?" She feigns innocence. "I'm sure Meredith is just as curious as I am. I mean, if you're so happy why haven't you signed the divorce papers I sent you almost three months ago?

At Meredith's shocked expression Lacey has to hide a smile.

"Oops, I guess she wasn't quite as curious as I am."

"You told me you signed those papers months ago. You told me you were officially divorced." Meredith snatches her hand out of Mark's, slowing backing away from him.

"Meredith please, just give me a chance to explain."

"No! You should have explained months ago. If you weren't planning on divorcing her you should have just told me that instead of leading me to believe you actually care about me."

"I do care about you." Mark pleads, mentally kicking himself for not telling her the truth.

"Save it. I'm done." She spits at him before turning and almost running out of the hospital.

"Meredith, wait!" He yells after her but she doesn't stop, if anything she moves even faster.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He practically yells at Lacey. "When did you become such a vindictive bitch?"

"I don't know Mark, maybe around the time you packed your stuff and walked out because you decided I wasn't worth fighting for anymore." She yells back at him.

"You cheated on me Lacey."

"You cheated on me too Mark, more than once."

"That was years ago and you forgave me a long time ago."

"Yeah, I did forgive you. I didn't walk out on you. I stayed and I fought. I didn't fly across the country with your daughter without so much as a goodbye."

"Kaydence wasn't yours to walk away with." He responds bitterly.

"No, she's not mine. She's the product of your inability to stay faithful. But let's not forget that regardless I still raised her after her mother died and that I still love her just as much as I love Madeline."

When he doesn't yell back Lacey looks up at him and he can't help but notice the tears in her eyes.

"You keep saying that we can't fix this because you can't trust me. But you're not even giving me a chance to earn your trust back, to show you how truly sorry I am for hurting you."

"I can't do this right now Lace, I've got to go find Meredith."

She sighs, willing the tears prickling the backs of her eyes not to fall as she watches him run out of the hospital, just like Meredith had only a few minutes before.

"Go ahead." She whispers to herself. "Fight for her instead."

I hope no one was too OOC, this was a very spur of the moment update so I'm sorry for any mistakes. I hope you guys enjoyed. Reviews are always appreciated.


	7. Explanations

A/N: I just wanted to say thanks for the reviews. They really make me happy. I'm not so sure how I feel about this chapter, its not as good as I was hoping. It's kind of lengthy. All the same, I hope you guys enjoy.

--

Mark walks into Joe's and spots Meredith immediately. He knew she'd be there, sitting at the bar, but he's surprised to see that she's not drinking. He can tell that she's been crying and it kills him to know that he's the cause. Taking a deep breath he walks over and takes a seat next to her, preparing for a fight.

"Don't. Mark please, I don't want to talk to you."

"Mere please, let me explain. Just talk to me for five minutes."

"Why?" She whirls around to face him. "What is there to explain? You didn't sign the papers. You obviously still care about her. End of discussion."

"No. Not end of discussion. I don't care about her anymore. Not like that. What Lacey and I had is over."

"Then why not just sign the papers? Why drag it out? Why lie to me?"

"Meredith." He sighs.

"No." She shakes her head. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I don't care."

"Meredith please, five minutes that's all I'm asking for."

"Fine. Start talking."

He looks around the bar and then back at her.

"Not here."

"Fine." She spits. "Where to?"

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Lacey knocks softly on the door to Addison's office, she had planned on speaking with Derek first but he was still in surgery.

"Come in." Addison calls and Lacey slowly opens the door. Madeline is asleep on the couch, coloring books and crayons spread out all over the floor below her. Addison is flipping through a medical journal that she quickly puts down when she sees Lacey.

"Hey stranger." Addison whispers, careful not to wake Madeline.

"Hey Addie."

"How've you been?"

Lacey shrugs her shoulders as she hugs her sister-in-law, fighting the sudden tears stinging her eyes.

"I've been better."

"You talked to Mark." Addison states as she sits down on the end of the couch not occupied, motioning for Lacey to do the same.

"I did, and as I'm sure you know that went over just great."

"He'll warm up to the idea of you being here soon enough."

Lacey scoffs.

"No he won't. Our marriage is over Addison, I don't even know why I'm here."

"You came to win him back. You and I both know that."

"No." She shakes her head. "I came because Derek said he needed me on a case. But that's not true is it?"

"You know he's only trying to help." She admits sheepishly.

"So he did bring me out here so he could play Mr. Fix it?" She rolls her eyes. "That is so Derek. Do I even have a case? Or is he expecting me to wander the halls like an idiot?"

"Hey." Addison throws up her hands. "I don't know. Go yell at him Lace."

"I'm sorry." She sighs standing up. "I'm gonna go find Derek or something. Maybe he's out of surgery. If there isn't a case for me I'm going home. I don't think I can do this."

"Lacey."

"Hmm?" She turns around, the door slightly ajar.

"Before you yell at Derek and hop on the next plane back to Manhattan think about what that's going to do Maddie and Kaydence. They've missed you more than you can imagine. At the very least, you have to fight for them."

"I know that." Lacey whispers, taking one last look at Madeline before closing the door softly behind her.

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"Derek Christopher Shepherd." Lacey practically yells as she marches into the scrub room where Derek is drying his hands.

"Lacey!" He smiles. "You made it."

"Don't do that. Don't act all happy to see me. You lied to me."

His smile falters just a bit and he hopes she doesn't notice.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh please. I know you better than anyone. There is no case Derek. You didn't need me for a consult, you called me out here so that you could play marriage counselor for me and Mark."

"That's not true. I really do have a case for you."

"Then let me see the chart."

"Umm, well. I uh." He stammers, officially blowing his cover.

"You don't have a chart because you don't have a case." She crosses her arms over her chest and leans against the door. "Did you even consider that maybe some things just aren't worth fixing? That maybe it was time we called it quits?"

"Don't say that Lacey. You guys have made it through much worse."

"Its not that simple this time Der. He isn't willing to forgive me."

"You forgave him."

She shrugs her shoulders, not ever bothering to wipe away the few tears that have managed to fall onto her cheeks.

"Yeah well, he doesn't see it that way."

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"Yeah, that ended in a lovely screaming match in the front lobby."

"Oh." Derek winces, unsure of what to say next.

"He doesn't want me here. He doesn't want to work on our marriage. He came here to forget that I even existed. If I had known you didn't really have a case for me I wouldn't be here."

"So go home Lacey. Forget I called you."

"I can't Derek. I have to think about the girls. I can't just fly back to New York and hope that we come to a custody agreement. I can't just walk out on them."

"I was only trying to help. You know that right?"

"You're always just trying to help. But we're not six years old anymore Derek. This isn't some bully on the playground you can beat up for me. When are you going to start letting me fight my own battles?"

"When you stop being my baby sister."

At this she can't help but smile there was barley two years between them but Derek had always taken the role of being a big brother very seriously.

"Come on, let's go find Addie and get out here."

"I have a hotel room."

"You're not sleeping in a hotel room. Not when I have a perfectly good guest bedroom."

"Derek."

"Lacey."

"I hate you sometimes."

"I love you too."

She smacks his arm playfully, following him out of the scrub room.

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"You said you wanted to talk Mark and now you're not saying a word." Meredith was nursing a beer as she and Mark swung back and forth very slowly on the porch swing just outside Mark's front door. He had bought the house a little over two months ago planning to start over in Seattle, before Lacey showed up.

"That night, my surgery ended earlier than I had planned. The patient died on the table and all I wanted to do was go home and fall asleep next to my wife. I knew something was off as soon as I walked in. All the lights in the living room were still on and there were two almost empty wine glasses on the coffee table. I was prepared to find her cheating on me, that had been a long time in coming. What I wasn't prepared for was with whom. I walked in to find her fucking Wesley Jacobs, the guy that had just beat me for Chief of Surgery, a guy both of us had been friends with since the very beginning of our residency."

Mark pauses to take a sip of his beer, not daring to look over at Meredith.

"I left that night, went back for the girls the next day and flew out here. She sent me all my stuff and all the girl's stuff from our brownstone about a week and a half later. There were divorce papers included. I had every intention of signing them."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I wasn't prepared for a custody battle. She had threatened to fight for full custody of Maddie if I didn't work something out with Kaydence. I was too afraid of losing them both."

"What do you mean work something out with Kaydence?" Meredith narrows her eyes at him, but he's not looking at her to notice.

Mark sighs, he hadn't realized he would have to tell this story too.

"Lacey wasn't the only unfaithful one."

Meredith looks up, utterly confused but she doesn't say a word.

"The first time I cheated on her we'd only been married a little over two years. I can't remember now what we'd been fighting about, but I went to a bar, got really drunk, and had sex with a blonde I had only known for fifteen minutes."

"Did you tell her?"

He nods his head, still not looking at Meredith.

"I confessed two days later. She kicked me out, filed divorce papers and said she never wanted to see me again. Two weeks later she called me sobbing because she'd lost a patient who reminded her of me. She made me promise not to do anything like that again and she let me move back in. Three months later I found out the blonde was pregnant."

"Kaydence isn't Lacey's biological daughter." It's more of a statement than a question but Mark answers all the same.

"No, but that's never mattered until now. Her mother died in a car crash when Kaydence was three. She moved in with us and Lacey stepped right into the role of being her mom. They've been close ever since."

"Why are you telling me all of this Mark? It doesn't change anything. All this proves is that you can fix your marriage. You've done it before."

"But I don't want to fix it. That's the point. Now that she's in Seattle I can sign the papers. We won't have to have a custody battle across the country. I don't want to fix my marriage Meredith. I want you."

"I can't trust you."

"If I sign the papers, will you at least think about giving me another chance?"

"Only if you sign the papers Mark. I'm not going to be the other woman. Until you are officially divorced I'm not thinking about anything."

"But you will think about it? If I sign the papers?"

"I don't know Mark. I thought you really cared about me, maybe even loved me and then she shows up out of the blue and I find out that you've been lying to me all this time. That hurt, a lot. I'm not sure if I'm willing to chance getting my heart broken again."

"I just want a chance to show you how sorry I am."

She stands up and hands him her now empty beer bottle, a sad smile on her face.

"I think that's all your wife wants too."

He starts to say something but she holds up her hand.

"Think about the real reason you didn't sign those divorce papers. And then I'll think about giving us another chance."

"For what its worth, I really am sorry."

She smiles at him, nodding her head.

"I know that." She whispers before turning her back and walking down the driveway to her car.

--

Well, what do you think? Reviews are great.


	8. An unexpected visitor

A/N: Wow. So it's been forever since I updated. To be honest I kind of forgot about this story. But here's a new chapter anyway. I hope some people are still reading.

"Okay people time for rounds." Bailey yells, walking into the locker room. "O'Malley you're with Shepherd, Stevens; you're with me, Yang, Montgomery-Shepherd, Karev, you're with Mark Sloan and Grey that leaves you with Lacey Sloan. Move people!"

"You have got to be kidding me." Meredith groans as Bailey exits the locker room.

"Sorry Mer." Izzie smiles sadly at Meredith as she follows after Bailey.

"What does she even do?" Cristina wonders aloud.

"I have no idea. Where do I find her?"

"Well don't look at me. I gotta go find Shepherd. Yay babies!" Cristina spits sarcastically.

Sighing Meredith stands up and follows her out. Maybe Addison would know where she could find Lacey. They had sort of been friends once. Before Meredith and Mark anyway.

"Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd?" Meredith calls, spotting Addison getting off the elevator.

"What can I do for you Dr. Grey?"

"I'm looking for Dr. Sloan."

"I believe he's about to scrub in. OR 2."

"No." Meredith shakes her head. "The other Dr. Sloan."

"Lacey?"

Meredith nods her head.

"I'm on her service today."

Addison's forehead wrinkles, a somewhat confused expression clouding her features.

"She doesn't have any cases." Addison says more to herself than to Meredith. "Umm. Try my office. If she's not there I don't know what to tell you. I wasn't aware she was even working."

"Uh. Thanks." Meredith mumbles stalking off towards Addison's office. Of course she would get stuck with her ex-boyfriend's not ex-wife who probably wasn't even working. Things just kept getting better.

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"No!" Lacey screams into her cell phone, pacing around Addison's office.

"No. That isn't the point. That's not even close to the point here. Just don't alright, I can't deal with this right now."

"Umm, Dr. Sloan?" Meredith questions, poking her head into Addison's office.

Looking up Lacey sighs. This was the last thing she wanted to deal with.

"I'm hanging up." She says into her phone before dropping it on the desk and turning her attention back to Meredith.

"Can I help you Dr. Grey?"

"I'm on your service."

"My what?"

"I'm your intern for the day."

"I have an intern?" Lacey asks. Clearly annoyed so Meredith just nods. Her day just kept getting worse.

"I don't even have a case." Rolling her eyes Lacey grabs her phone off the desk and walks past Meredith.

"Come on." She calls, not turning around to make sure she's following.

Silently Meredith follows her down the hallway and up the staircase. She immediately realizes they are going to the Chief's office. Which was fine by her. Maybe she could get assigned somewhere else. The pit would be better than this.

"I have an intern." Lacey states; slamming the door open without knocking and then suddenly stops head in her tracks, causing Meredith to walk into her.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Not happy to see me?" A blonde haired man asks from the sofa, a small smirk playing on his lips as he looks expectantly at Lacey.

"You said you were in Manhattan. I just hung up on you and you were supposed to be in Manhattan."

He smiles and shrugs his shoulders.

"Plans change baby."

"Do not call me baby. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Derek. But I'm just a little early for my appointment."

"Appointment. He's expecting you?"

"Not exactly."

Meredith clears her throat, clearly uncomfortable and not wanting to witness this reunion of sorts. Lacey turns at the sound, realizing Meredith is still in the room.

"Dr. Grey. Why don't you go find Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd? You can be on her service today. I'm sure she can use the extra intern."

"No problem." Meredith walks as quickly as possible out the door, letting it slam a little too loudly behind her.

"What are you doing here Wesley?"

"I came to see what's so great about Seattle. Everyone keeps packing up and moving out here. I wanted to join in on the fun."

"I'm being serious."

"So am I." He smiles, but she doesn't return the gesture.

"Go home."

"But I just got here." He stands up and moves closer to her. "I didn't even get a proper hello." He smirks, moving even closer to her until her back is against the door.

"I don't want you here." She whispers, looking away from him.

"I don't believe that." He whispers in her ear, grabbing her chin and turning her face towards his. When he leans down to kiss her she doesn't push him away like she should, instead she lets him kiss her, gently at first. For reasons she can't explain when he deepens the kiss she starts to kiss him back. Completely oblivious to the fact that everyone can see straight into Derek's office. Including Mark, who is standing right outside, a mix of anger and hurt written all over his face.

A/N: So, what do you think? I'm not sure how I feel about it. Reviews are always great. But as I was re-reading this story before I wrote this chapter I noticed that my timeline is way off as far as the girl's ages go. So, just to clear that up, Kaydence is eight and Madeline is four. Which throws the first two chapters off a little bit but I'll make sure to stay on track from now on. Sorry about that.


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